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My idea for marketing a game. Shake the Jar Team with Dairy Queen, McDonalds or Swensons and offer a free Milkshake if Freeman gets a double double. Sell discounted tickets to the game.

Akron athletics may be one of the single remaining entertainment entities, aside from the parking situation (which does suck), to ride out inflation without getting out of hand in this area. You could take a family of four to every Zips basketball game in a season and get some concessions for the same price as maybe attending a single Blossom Live Nation concert and sitting with the drunks and psychos up on the lawn. Throw in matching T-shirts, 4 beers for the adults and some sodas for the kids and you’re tacking on an extra $200 or so, probably more. Minor league baseball is not a comp and will never be a comp. College basketball is played during the worst weather months of the year indoors, not outdoors May-August when it’s gorgeous 85% of the time. Of all things Akron has done wrong over the years, and Lord knows it’s been plenty, ticket pricing doesn’t sniff the medal stand.

It's interesting to see the varying opinions shared here. I used to think, "If people don't want to come, what can you do?" But as I've gotten older and seen other teams in various sports/leagues grow their fan base in creative ways, it makes me push back on that. Akron can make a better effort to draw fans. Akron can make a better effort on promotions and ticketing. Akron can most certainly make an effort to get better gear available to fans. Keith Dambrot outperformed what this program would have done without him. We hit the jackpot in replacing him with John Groce when the time came, who is also outperforming what the program would do without him. My biggest fear with Zips basketball is that if/when Groce leaves, we won't be so lucky to find another elite coach. Athletics need to be better. Those involved with GameDay experience need to be better. I know they're tied up with a crummy contract on merchandising, but find ways to be better (remember when they sold black jersey, shorts, shirts, and "Tree" socks and they all quickly sold out?). I absolutely refuse to accept mediocrity for the program and university I love so very much, and I hope others do the same.

Completely agree, but riddle me this. In 2022, the average MAC attendance was 2,562 and the Mountain West was 6,203. If I am not mistaken, that average would max out the JAR regularly. What are they doing differently in this modern age? http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2023/Attend.pdf

CBS Sports has a deal to show a MAC game every Friday. With the MAC being as bad as it is (9 teams with a NET of 200+) that just doesn't give many options for quality games.

You are replying to a post that talked about players that did not win an NCAA tournament match during their eligibility. Your response should not include Sammy Tojaga. Sammy Tojaga started in 5 Zip NCAA tournament wins. In 2018, Sammy started in wins over Rider, #16 seed Syracuse (on the road), #1 seed Wake Forest (on the road), 3 time defending champion Stanford (on the road) and Michigan State (in the college cup semis). The Michigan State game was a blowout as the zips put up 5 goals. Coach Embick was able to utilize many bench players in the 2nd half. Sammy only had to play 67 minutes in the Spartan game. Sammy Tojaga was healthy in 2018 and Sammy played all 90 minutes in the first 4 NCAA tournament games. I would be remiss if I did not point out that the zips had a different coaching staff in 2018. Coach Embick, Coach Coppinger, Leo Chappel (for most of the year) and TJ Kolba. Our coaching staff from 2019 to 2023 has included Coach Embick , Coach Coppinger and Coach Nanchoff. Attila is not shown on the zips web site so I am not sure how many years that he has been on staff. Zips fans have been blessed to see many NCAA tournament wins in the Porter and Embick coaching eras. Coach Embick and the Stanford head coach were the only 2 coaches to guide their teams to 3 college cups in a 4 year span (2015-2018). None of us like it but the fact remains that the zips have not won an NCAA tournament game with this current coaching staff in the past 5 years. I am fully confident that this coaching staff is doing everything possible to make the changes needed for 2024. Dyson Clapier and Malik Henry coming back to school.....shows great confidence in the coaching staff and their teammates. Clearly, all teams deal with injuries and the zips have probably been more negatively impacted than most teams. Sammy Tojaga had a medical redshirt year in 2021. I truly believe that the zips (with a healthy Sammy Tojaga playing 90 minutes) would have beaten Santa Clara in the NCAA first round game. In 2023, the zips played all year without their #1 recruit , Caleb Borneo. I have never seen Caleb Borneo play in person but I do think that the zips would have made the 2023 NCAA tourney with a healthy Caleb Borneo. That being said, I think that the zips coaching staff has done an outstanding job of adding news players for spring 2024 and fall 2024. I think that the zips 2024 recruiting class is severely underrated by the "so-called recruiting experts". The 2024 recruiting class is being evaluated on James Buebendorf, Kamden Held and the 4 other domestic recruits. In reality, the 2024 domestic recruits should also include Josh Bartels (who as mentioned above....was considered a 23 recruit) and Outstanding 2023 recruits Caleb Borneo and 6'4 forward Nathan Ferguson(Borneo and Ferguson were 2023 recruits that were injured and could not play all year). Caleb Borneo was rated 4 stars by Top Drawer Soccer (TDS) and was one of the top 50 recruits in 2023(24 of the top 25 recruits in 2023 went pro and did not go to college). I am very excited about the 3 Canadian recruits that will join the team in the fall. Simon Guardiero at age 17 played in a 19 and under league and played 880 minutes in 11 games and his Sigma FC team won the under 19 league. Remi Agunbiade at age 17 played in a 19 and under league and led his Vaughn SC team in scoring with 7 goals in 11 games. Jamai Royer at age 17 played in a 19 and under league and played 811 minutes in 11 games. The zips are also adding in January a 20 year old defensive midfielder from Germany. TDS is evaluating the 2024 class primarily based on the 6 domestic recruits. In reality, the zips should be evaluated on the 6 domestic recruits and the 7 other players that I have mentioned above. In addition, the Zips have added some excellent transfers. The zips have added a player that had 9 assists for his Division 1 team and was selected first team all league in a league that had 3 teams rated in the top 25. The zips have also added a defensive center back that was rated as the #68 best recruit nationwide by TDS in the 2023 recruiting year. The defensive center back was also rated 4 stars by TDS in 2023. By my count, the Zips will add 7 new players to the roster in January 2024. I am hopeful that Caleb Borneo and Nathan Ferguson will be able to make their zip soccer debuts in Spring 2024. The zips highest rated 2024 recruit, James Buebendorf, is one of the 7 new players that will join the team in January. The German Holding midfielder will also join the team in January. That is 9 players making their zips debuts in Spring 2024.......5 more new domestic recruits coming in the fall. 3 Canadian recruits coming in the fall. I suspect that the coaches will probably add at least one more European recruit for the fall. By my count, that is 17 new players for the spring and fall....that none of us have seen. I am very excited to see how the new players do in the spring and I am also excited to see more of Daniel Firek, Dreas, Hardin, Herbert, etal.

The biggest pricing issue for the UofA is their apparel. The goal needs to be do get the "A", Zippy, Roo, "Akron", "Zips", etc., onto as many bodies as possible. $30 for their shirts, $40-50 for their sweatshirts/pullovers/polos - ridiculous prices for a college that has to compete with every knock off company making stuff for Ohio State and selling it for $10-20. Apparel is how you create excitement/attachment.

Many MW schools are located in places where they're either the only show or one of the few shows within hundreds of miles. Especially with the disintegration of the PAC12, the Mountain West is now the premier western-USA athletic conference. Within a 45-60 minute radius of Akron are 3 other DI basketball programs (PCCC, Cleveland State, and Youngstown State). In addition to Akron and the aforementioned 3 schools, Ohio also has BUGS, Toledo, Wright State, Dayton, Xavier, Cincy, Ohio State, and Ohio. We also have the Guardians, Browns, and Cavaliers within 40 minutes of Akron. Compare that to Utah State, Boise State, Wyoming, etc. There's only so much "entertainment money" to go around for the average family, especially in this economy. There are way too many options for people to place their fandom and money for Akron to get a larger slice of the pie without 1) a conference change and/or 2) better marketing/gameday experience. @GP1 can say all he wants that a different conference wouldn't make a difference for Akron, but he also is a Wake Forest fan which literally rides the coat tails of the rest of the ACC financially while contributing borderline nothing to the conference for 1-2 decades when it comes to the revenue sports. Athletically, the MAC/CUSA/Sun Belt would make more sense for Wake Forest, but not financially which is why they won't be leaving the ACC anytime soon. And an elevated conference for Akron would absolutely do the same. The MAC's media deal is one of the best for G5 football. However, there is virtually zero incentive for a network to match or increase that deal when it expires. The American is already more lucrative and the Sun Belt has arguably surpassed the MAC. More money = JAR renovations/new arena, better gameday experience, better marketing, etc. Why would anyone in Northeast Ohio care about Akron vs. (insert directional Michigan or almost any other MAC program aside from PCCC, OU, and somewhat Toledo)? Make that Akron vs. the A10, and you get a little more interest. Akron vs. the American, and you probably get even more interest. Akron vs. American/A10/etc. + an improved gameday atmosphere/marketing, and by George, I think you've cracked the code. There are things Akron can do in the present to improve the gameday experience/marketing which would draw a certain number of fans to the games that may not otherwise attend. But as you stated, @Illini Zip, Akron basketball is pretty much at its ceiling in the MAC (aside from winning a NCAA Tourney game).

I accept this is the reality, but without change somewhere, somehow Akron's basketball ceiling is already set. A top 3 program consistently in a conference that ranks between 13th and 25th in D1. I don't like that. And I hope Groce is still up for the challenge. Everyone else in the past, including himself at Ohio, has pushed through with success only to bolt the conference. I want him to build a program that is so good that the refs are irrelevant or take Akron basketball to a better conference. I like his approach to the non-conference, playing other top mid-majors. And the occasional P6 opponent in a holiday tournament. I'm sure he understands the situation much better than I do. This might be so, but they answer to the customer. In this case, the customer is the MAC. Don't get me wrong, I think there is a level of game management in the power conferences and the pros as well. But I have seen few examples as silly as the Ball State game. The non-conference games this year were not perfect. Nothing ever is. But I walked away feeling the result was determined by the players on the court, which is what you want. I tip my hat to our current Zip team for keeping their focus and pulling out the win. But if you care about the NET rankings, the margin of victory matters.

This is how that conversation would go with Akron marketing and the sponsor company's sales team... Sponsor: "Love it. How often does Freeman get a double double?" Akron: "Almost every game." Sponsor: "Make it a free milkshake with the purchase of a meal."

You're hired. Report directly to the Marketing Department.

Pulling a UConn would be a dream. Join the Big East in every sport except football and just figure out somewhere for them to play. Getting out of the MAC would definitely draw in more interest. But that's never going to happen. Nobody cares about the MAC and it shows. Personally when I was at UA and knew the Zips would be playing someone like Balls, BG or a directional Michigan school I knew nobody was going to be at the game and none of my friends would be interested in going. We only went if there was literally nothing else going on that night. The ONLY time people actually cared is if we were playing Kent or Ohio. The only reason any people tune into the weekday "MACtion" football games is because there's literally no other football being played on Tuesdays/Wednesdays. Yet the stands are always empty regardless, for every school. I've never once watched a MAC football or basketball game on TV unless the Zips are playing.

I feel for some it's just easier for them to make excuses for why people aren't coming than just admit people aren't interested in Akron athletics. Akron needs to find a way to enhance the experience to make people want to show. There is no cost, outside of literally paying people to show up, that will pack the JAR on a nightly basis. I feel northeast Ohio just doesn't care much about basketball. Just look at how terribly the Cavs were drawing before they drafted LeBron in 2003. There was literally rumblings that the team might move. Look at how poorly they were drawing when LeBron was in Miami. Look at how bad attendance was when he left for LA. I literally paid $15 for a lower bowl seat that had $5 preloaded. Fans just started returning when the Cavs got good. Nobody around here even cares much about college basketball until March. This Is very much a football first area that are more fair weather fans when it comes to anything else. We just don't have that basketball culture of a Cincinnati, Indiana, Kentucky, etc.

This is just it. Students can get in for free and how many do? If someone cares enough about going to a game, they'll go regardless of a few bucks. Same goes with start times and weather. If you really care, you'll find a way to make it happen. People in NE Ohio only care about Cleveland sports and the Buckeyes. To them, Akron sports are on the same level as high schools. They don't appreciate what it's like to have a successful D-1 program right in town. The JAR is a dumb and a major problem. But that problem is never going away unless people start showing that they care.

The last 10 years have shown how fast the 2nd or 3rd guy can see playing time.

Another JUCO DE offer.

More of Daragh Reilly, Matt Dreas, Jackson Herbert and Josh Hardin with Caleb Borneo, Nate Ferguson and Josh Bartels, whom I thought was joining last Fall, + the new players. I'm very much looking forward to 2024.

I do not have season tickets. When I want to take my son to a game, we go when our schedules permit. I don't decide the game/date by seeing if the GA ticket is $10 vs. $15. The price difference doesn't matter - we go when we want to. The U needs to figure out what needs to be done so Joe Akron wants to go to the game. If Joe Akron wants to go, $10 vs $15 doesn't really matter.

Kind of strange to raise tickets prices during the season, but it might be that variable ticket pricing like a lot of professional teams do these days. Now we're in the thick of the MAC schedule and the holidays are over ticket prices are raised. My 6 game mini plan tickets were only $25 each, so I'm saving even more money now. 😉

So Groce wants more people to attend and the U raises the price of tickets. How stupid is that?

Last week we learned of the Zips’ upcoming participation in The College Spring League. Fantastic! We are really looking forward to these matches against quality competition. This particular Spring indicates fresh lifeblood arriving to a program in desperate need of a transfusion. Yes. Desperate. I could not help but notice how the advertisement for The College Spring League boasted four participants in the previous NCAA MSOC Tournament, Akron not among those. And like rubbing alcohol applied to a flesh wound, the pain was searing and immediate, but ultimately worth bearing. Zips missed the NCAA Tournament. I can talk about it now. It is so unconscionable that one must reference the records to believe it: A handful of departing Akron seniors (because of the COVID-19 exemption) played 5 years of eligibility without ever winning an NCAA Tournament match. Even though this sad fact is mercifully in the past, out of respect for the players’ effort, I will not name the names. We know who they are. How many times in program history have the Zips missed the Tournament? Not bloody often! Somebody can research that if they like. Suffice it to say that Akron has qualified for the Tourney the great majority of the time, especially in recent decades. It is rarer still to find a player who exhausted all 4 years of their eligibility without an NCAA Tourney victory. It has happened more often than I would have guessed before consulting the books. The last class to play 4 years sans NCAA win was in the early 2000s under Ken Lolla. It is extraordinary that any player be granted 5 years of eligibility. Injuries and medical redshirt seasons usually accompany such scenarios. To think that a few players were around that long without even one NCAA post- season success is just astounding. The easy rationale would be to blame the afore-referenced players. They were not tough enough; they were of insufficient quality. “Good riddance! Bring in the new guys!” Surely participants ultimately rule any athletic contest. Having the best player almost always prevails over having the best coach. Sports is the essential reality drama. But in this instance, to place 100% of the fault on the players would be lazy if not disingenuous. I frankly trust that our coaching staff is severely scrutinizing themselves and each other. THEY are culpable. This result is not OK. This will not stand. THEY must hold themselves accountable. THEY must hold each other accountable. It is (past) time to rigorously re-evaluate previously successful methods and techniques. Change your process, coach. Test the old ways; keep only what proves out as viable. Scrap the rest. Assimilate new ideas and perspectives. Either you make changes or changes will be made for you. In the new millennium, Akron Zips MSOC have risen from the morass of anonymity, rerouting the apathy and mediocrity plaguing most MSOC programs. But we can easily return to that quagmire. We are much closer to it than most suspect.

For the sake of many of us, they better hurry up before it's too late.

Enjoy him while we've got him

That makes two of us

I hope before I die that I see how Joe Akron responds to a Zips NCAA tournament win.

I don't know. Maybe they measure it differently. Maybe having SDSU helps. Maybe being in larger cities helps. A couple are the state school in their state.

JUCO DT.

I should have included Daniel Firek (looking to see more of him) and Ryan Kopay (looking forward to seeing him play with the Zips) from 2023.

The belief that another conference would solve all of our problems is delusional. I think there is a saying about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The lack of coordinated efforts on the part of G5 schools is a bigger problem. The idea that attendance is low due to a lack of awareness because the ABJ doesn't cover enough, or whatever, is nonsensical. Because of social media, people have more information about the state of Akron athletics than they ever have. Attendance in college athletics is down across the board at all levels of college athletics. The Zips are just down from already bad levels. It has more to do with societal changes and increased entertainment options than the product. The product is excellent. People just have many, many, many more options for their free time.

I live out of state and have to buy everything online. It's sad that the only places that I can ever find decent Akron Zips gear online is Homage, 47 brand and ebay if I want anything name brand. Surprisingly I've gotten several nice quarter zips on there for around $30 each and a game worn football jersey for $50. I'm assuming a lot of the nice stuff on there is team issued apparel that never got used. Fanatics is a joke and the campus bookstore site is run by Fanatics so it's all the same stuff. The online monopoly they have created really doesn't help.

The MAC is the right fit for Akron. FBS football limits Akron's ability to move anywhere. No conference would ever accept Akron as a football only member given the state of the program and going independent really isn't an option. Also, refs aren't conference exclusive in college basketball like they are football. The same guys officiating an OSU-Indiana game on a Saturday are the ones who also officiate an Akron-Ball State game on a Tuesday.

Can you convince the Big Ten to take us? 😉 College athletics is moving towards a more a-la-carte system. The MAC does not sponsor at least two sports that a few of their full time member schools are some of the best programs in the nation - men's hockey and men's soccer. Unfortunately, we're not quite there when it comes to breaking up basketball programs from FBS football programs. I am looking forward to that day, but who knows when that will come.

Surprised me too? Maybe a key Dayton player is hurt? Regardless - I stand by my prediction! Shock the world, Flyers! 💣

It was certainly more intimate but so is my garage.

🤣 Yeah, right

If/when Wasel realizes his upside, I'm sure he will get his shot. Him not getting on the field last year tells me he still has some work to do. Even if he takes a big step forward as early as this year and Finley remains ahead of him, one play can result in him getting his shot and change everything.

If anyone hasn’t seen the zips gear thread this week. The Salvation Army on Brittain road has tons of new UA gear with tags. $5 T-shirts, $10 sweatshirts

Everybody should be excited for the Spring League. I didn’t get to any games the last time Akron entered it, but I would assume playing meaningful games is better than playing semi pro/pro USL teams for the athletes. I am excited to see more of Reilly and Dreas with Borneo and new guys also coming in. I can only assume by the “makes changes” you mean to the athletes themselves? Moving student athletes on isn’t quite as simple as that. To move Joey Paulus, Will Jackson and Sammy Tojaga “on” is not quite that easy. Those guys love Akron Soccer. From a coaches perspective, I would assume they were in the line up for those very reasons. To suggest coaches were wrong for choosing them is pathetic. However, you have managed to go 2 months without just ridiculing the staff but you can’t see to post without helping yourself. Have you ever spoken with the staff about their ideas, plans and recruitment? I have not spoken with coach Embick personally, but I would assume his door with open for conversations. My guess is you will hide behind the computer screen. To say you trust the coaching staff is just a lie. You Havnt said a positive thing about them in a long time. Check your posts.

It is stupid and unfortunately not at all surprising.

Bradley is on a little bit of a roll, with a 5 game win streak - https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/college/basketball/bradley-hoops/2024/01/10/bradley-braves-basketball-score-evansville-in-missouri-valley-game-result/72173819007/

To my knowledge they typically don't sell those row 1-2 seats. Unless it is a Kent game. They're used by older people who have seats elsewhere but can't/won't walk up higher, or those who just prefer them.

The upper reserved section at $25 now just seems way overpriced. The first 3 or 4 rows have the railing in the way of the view. It always seems like a very sparse crowd in those seats

Rumor has it Bill Belichick will be retaining Arth in LA after an endorsement from Peyton Manning.

How the mighty have fallen. Buffalo had such a good program for many years. Really surprised to see their dismal record. Makes me appreciate how good Akron B Ball has been these many years. You have to give credit to KD and Groce.

JUCO DE.

I like him. He has a lot of size and moves really well. Nimble feet for a guy of his stature. Played mostly RT this past season, but also played some LT. He handled the edge fine at JUCO. My only concern is how he’ll fare against some of the quicker edge rushers he’ll face here. Here are his highlights. Full games can also be found on YouTube. Better JUCO players are available now than ever before due to a heavy emphasis on the portal, so the offers can be a little misleading. Nunnally is a good example of that. If nothing else, I believe Burrell increases the talented depth compared to what we’ve previously had. Also, this makes 4 scholarship OL in and only 2 out. Sounds like we’ll see a few more OL departures at some point.

It's a NE Ohio thing. I moved from NEOhio almost 16 years ago. I always look back fondly. It's a great place with lots to do. Pro sports year around, great restaurants, great schools and suburbs, museums, Cleveland orchestra, the waterfront, national parks, universities....the list goes on and on. I travel all over the country for work. There is really nothing going on in NYC or Los Angeles that cannot be done in NE Ohio. I don't know how you make people appreciate what they have. Places aren't boring, people are.

JUCO OL

Tyson Durant committed to Washington State per his X profile

Former NC State and Cal QB Ben Finley is taking an official visit at Akron He threw for 572 yards and 3TD/4INT for Cal in 2023 https://x.com/bfin_5/status/1742576778697404477?s=20